West Midlands housing association, Nehemiah UCHA, is pleased to announce it has garnered a Bronze accreditation under the prestigious Investors In People (IiP) scheme and is this month celebrating 15 years of continuous IiP success.

Since its launch in 1991, the Investors in People framework has been helping organisations deliver better performance and stronger, mutually beneficial, bonds with staff. It has become the business benchmark by which companies are gauged for the quality of the company/employee relationship.

Nehemiah UCHA has held Investors in People accreditation since May 1997 and, in 2012, opted to take their accreditation to Bronze status. On top of the standard Investors in People criteria, this meant the organisation had to fulfil 26 new criteria, demonstrating Nehemiah UCHA’s commitment both to its staff and the people it serves.

It was no mean feat, as just 4.8% of the 3824 companies within the Investors in People – Central England Region meet this high level of accreditation. And, it’s made more special by the fact Nehemiah UCHA gained Bronze status on their first attempt.

The Chief Executive of Nehemiah UCHA, Llewellyn Graham, congratulated staff on the accolade: “A housing association is driven by people for people and it is the expertise, calibre and commitment of our staff that makes ours so successful. Special thanks must go to our Corporate Services Manager, Janet Dubidat for her leading role in the Investors in People initiative. It’s a real achievement to receive independent recognition of our focus on staff engagement, development and our efforts to achieve a good work/life balance for all who work here.”

Nehemiah UCHA has been successful maintaining its Investors in People status for 15 years something which speaks volumes and over the next few years the association is aiming to gain the silver accreditation and if successful will consider going for the Gold standard following that.

Editors Note: Nehemiah UCHA is a progressive housing association serving the multicultural African Caribbean, Asian and European communities within the West Midlands. The Association has over 28 staff and provides 1,000 homes for single people, families, couples and older people in Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

About

BMENational is a collective of over 65 BME housing associations operating within England. It acts under the auspices of the National Housing Federation (NHF) and, as well as collaborating with the Federation to influence national housing policy, it also provides a consultative and promotional platform for BME housing issues.